DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-4, 7-9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Roesner er al. (US 2015/0244165).
Regarding Claim 1, Roesner discloses a cutoff control device that is for use in an in-vehicle system (Figures 1-3) including:
a power storage unit (comprising 6, Figure 1);
a power line as a path through which power is transmitted between the power storage unit and a load (comprising 8, 9, Figure 1); and
a cutoff unit (comprising 14, 16, Figure 1) configured to switch from an allowed state in which power supply from the power storage unit to the load through the power line is allowed to a cutoff state in which the power supply is cut off, and that is configured to control the cutoff unit (Figure 1, Paragraph 43, “…The switches 14, 16 are in an embodiment internal battery contactors of the battery module 2 that can be activated so as to open in order to be able to interrupt--within a short time in the millisecond range short circuit currents of up to approximately 1000 Ampere at 600 Volt battery voltage…”.),
the cutoff control device comprising:
a current detection unit configured to detect a current state of a current flowing through the power line (comprising 29, Figure 1);
a voltage detection unit configured to detect a voltage state of a voltage in the power line (comprising 31, Figure 1); and
a control unit (comprising 4, Figure 1, Paragraph 39, “….battery management system 4 for monitoring and controlling the rechargeable battery assembly 3”) configured to instruct the cutoff unit to switch to the cutoff state if the current state detected by the current detection unit is a predetermined current increase state (IB>IBMAX at S3, Figure 3, Paragraph 53, Claim 1) and the voltage state detected by the voltage detection unit is a predetermined voltage decrease state (Paragraphs 49-50, Claim 1, “…if the sensed battery current is greater than the maximum current threshold and/or the sensed battery voltage is smaller than the minimum voltage threshold, to determine that arc flash conditions are present and to initiate protective measures to prevent further operation of the battery assembly…”).
Regarding Claim 2, Roesner discloses the cutoff control device according to Claim 1,
wherein the current detection unit is configured to detect a first detection value with which a current value of the power line is identifiable, as the current increase state (IB > IBMAX, short circuit/overcurrent state, Paragraph 53),
the voltage detection unit is configured to detect a second detection value with which a voltage value of the power line is identifiable, as the voltage decrease state (UB < UBlimit, undervoltage/overdischarge state Paragraph 50),
the current increase state is a state in which the current value of the power line is greater than or equal to a current threshold (IB > IBmax), and
the voltage decrease state is a state in which the voltage value of the power line is less than or equal to a voltage threshold (UB < UBlimit, Paragraph 50).
Regarding Claim 3, Roesner discloses the cutoff control device according to Claim 1, wherein the in-vehicle system includes a switch provided in the power line and configured to switch the power line between a conductive state and a non-conductive state (comprising 17, 18, Figure 1, Paragraph 54),
the switch is configured to, if a current greater than or equal to a predetermined value flows through the switch in the conductive state, be released from the conductive state and switch to the non-conductive state due to generation of an electromagnetic repulsive force (Paragraph 54, “…very high short circuit currents, the battery management system might potentially not be able to open the battery contactors 14, 16. In this case however, the fuses 17, 18 are triggered and ensure an interruption of the current flow”, a predetermined value being above a threshold for the cutoff device),
the current detection unit is configured to detect a first detection value with which a current value of the power line is identifiable, as the current increase state (IB > IBMAX, short circuit/overcurrent state, Paragraph 53),
the current increase state is a state in which the current value of the power line is greater than or equal to a current threshold (IB > IBMAX for t1 > TMAX1, Figure 3), and
the current threshold is a value less than the predetermined value (Paragraph 53).
Regarding Claim 4, Roesner discloses the cutoff control device according to Claim 1, wherein the voltage decrease state is a state in which a voltage decrease rate of the power line is greater than or equal to a certain value (S5, Figure 3, Paragraph 80, note a correction - > sign in Figure 3 should be correctly read as < as described in Paragraph 80).
Regarding Claim 7, Roesner discloses the cutoff control device according to Claim 1, wherein the in-vehicle system includes a switch provided in the power line and configured to switch the power line between a conductive state and a non-conductive state (comprising 17, 18, Figure 1, Paragraph 54), and the voltage detection unit is configured to detect the voltage state on a side closer to the load than the switch (63, 26’, Figure 1, Paragraph 76, “…Alternatively, the arc flash protection device 26' monitors the voltage on the battery DC bus 37 or, as indicated, between the positive and the negative connecting lines 38, 39 by means of a voltage sensor 63,…”).
Regarding Claim 8, Roesner discloses the cutoff control device according to Claim 1, wherein the in-vehicle system includes a switch provided in the power line and configured to switch the power line between a conductive state and a non-conductive state (comprising 17, 18, Figure 1, Paragraph 54), and
the voltage detection unit is configured to detect the voltage state on a side closer to the power storage unit than the switch (31 is closer to power storage unit 6 than to the switch 17, 18 and detects voltage on a side closer to 6, Figure 1, Paragraph 76, “…he arc flash protection device 26' may be connected to the battery management system 4 of each battery module so as to be able to communicate and receive therefrom the corresponding current and voltage signals that are detected by the current sensor 29 and the voltage sensor 31 of a respective battery module 2”).
Regarding Claim 9, Roesner discloses the cutoff control device according to Claim 1, wherein any of a pyrofuse, an electromagnetic fuse, and a semiconductor switch is used in the cutoff unit (Paragraph 43, “…17, 18 may be electronic fuses or also safety fuses…”).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 5-6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Roesner er al. (US 2015/0244165) in view of Lee et al. (US 2016/0344219).
Regarding Claim 5, Roesner discloses the cutoff control device according to Claim 1, wherein the voltage decrease state is a state in which a voltage value of the power line is less than or equal to a voltage threshold (S5, Figure 3, Paragraph 80, note a correction - > sign in Figure 3 should be correctly read as < as described in Paragraph 80).
Roesner does not disclose the in-vehicle system includes a measurement unit configured to measure an internal resistance value of the power storage unit, and the control unit being configured to, based on the internal resistance value measured by the measurement unit, set the voltage threshold to be lower when the internal resistance value is larger.
Lee discloses a cutoff control device (Figures 1-4), comprising a power storage unit (115, Figure 2), a measurement unit (100, Figure 2) configured to measure an internal resistance value of the power storage unit (Abstract, “…by dynamically measuring an internal resistance of the battery”, Figure 4), and a control unit (205) being configured to, based on the internal resistance value measured by the measurement unit, adjust the voltage threshold to be lower when the internal resistance value is larger (Paragraph 29, Figure 4). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide in the cutoff control device of Roesner, an internal resistance measurement unit and voltage threshold adjustment based on the measured internal resistance as taught by Lee, such that power storage unit can be appropriately protected and the system can consume more power from the power storage unit simultaneously (see Lee, Paragraph 29).
Regarding Claim 6, Roesner discloses the cutoff control device according to Claim 2, wherein the voltage decrease state is a state in which the voltage value of the power line is less than or equal to the voltage threshold (UB < UBMIN at S5, Figure 3, Paragraph 80, note a correction - > sign in Figure 3 should be correctly read as < as described in Paragraph 80).
Roesner does not disclose that based on a multiplication value obtained by multiplying a sum of an internal resistance value of the power storage unit and a resistance value of the power line by the current threshold and an output voltage of the power storage unit, the voltage threshold is determined according to an arithmetic equation that sets the voltage threshold to be higher when the output voltage is larger and to be lower when the multiplication value is larger.
Lee discloses a cutoff control device (Figures 1-4), comprising a power storage unit (115, Figure 2), a measurement unit (100, Figure 2) configured to measure an internal resistance value of the power storage unit (Abstract, “…by dynamically measuring an internal resistance of the battery”, Figure 4), and a control unit (205) being configured to, based on the internal resistance value measured by the measurement unit, adjust the voltage threshold dynamically to be lower or higher and employing software techniques to calculate or derive the new target minimum voltage threshold based on the information of internal resistance R_INT and the current (Paragraph 29, Figure 4).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide in the cutoff control device of Roesner, an internal resistance measurement unit and voltage threshold adjustment based on the measured internal resistance as taught by Lee, such that power storage unit can be appropriately protected and the system can consume more power from the power storage unit simultaneously (see Lee, Paragraph 29).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Neyman (US 2019/0109454) discloses an electronic fuse (Figures 1-13) comprising a switch (comprising S1, S2, Figure 3), wherein the switch is maintained in on state provided that both, a current flow through the fuse device does not exceed an overload current threshold, and a voltage on a power storage device does not fall below a voltage threshold (Abstract, Claim 20).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to LUCY M THOMAS whose telephone number is (571)272-6002. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 9:30 am - 5:30 pm.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Crystal L Hammond can be reached at (571)270-1682. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/LUCY M THOMAS/ Examiner, Art Unit 2838, 8/07/2026
/CRYSTAL L HAMMOND/ Supervisory Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2838
Prosecution Insights